Re: What did you do to or for or with your Laverda today?

Finished fitting the rearsets on the SF.

Brake setup took several attempts! Looks like adjustment will need to be a bit more frequent.

Looks OK and the riding position is perfect now.

H.
 
Started looking at the electrics on the Fatlas.
The Lucas switchgear is quite a bit different to the Jap stuff, but doesn't look too hard to suss out.
Missing the front brake switch, apparently unobtanium but a quick look on the net and I should find something to bodge fit accurately.
The wiring loom I bought looks like it's for a different bike, from  different planet, from a parallel universe.
Guess I'll have to make one from scratch again.
 
Got the rebuild started this weekend. This is where I got to .
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Ppuxley said:
Got the rebuild started this weekend. This is where I got to .
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no idea why you went to all that trouble to fit the chain at that stage, far easier with the engine in place

before you go any further fit the centre stand, should have been your first item, I do it by rolling the chassis over before anything is fitted and thus you have good access to it, far easier that way

 
Grant said:
Looking good.
I would have fitted the chain after the engine was installed.
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Being linkless, it had to go on with the Swinging arm. Kieth riveted it before sending it down, so I could fit it with the chassis build. Hopefully it won't make his life too difficult getting the engine in , later
 
redax5 said:
before you go any further fit the centre stand, should have been your first item, I do it by rolling the chassis over before anything is fitted and thus you have good access to it, far easier that way
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OK Red, thanks . Can do the centre stand next, without too much trouble now I have the rims on and I can remove the chocks.
 
Sat in the garage with a roll of emery tape, sanding the 3-into-1 pipes smooth after they had been de-rusted and de-chromed.  :(

Likely that I will be doing that for a quite a few days to come, but I will spare you the repeated updates  ::)
 
chris78jota said:
Sat in the garage with a roll of emery tape, sanding the 3-into-1 pipes smooth after they had been de-rusted and de-chromed.  :(

Likely that I will be doing that for a quite a few days to come, but I will spare you the repeated updates  ::)
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This is a riveting project, any news on your progress?  ;)
 
Rode into work on the SF2.
Carburation a lot better. A real pleasure pulling cleanly from tickover in the fresh morning air, sound boucing back from the houses and trees by the side of the road. I was very pleased until after a minute or so idling at a set of lights, I briefly hopped onto an urban motorway and savagely accelarated to around 4500 revs, and then it spluttered till the plugs cleared. Definitely seems more like plug fouling than running poor. Will try another twiddle of the air screws now the carbs are clean(er).

Paul
 
Rode the SF2 home from work and the very annoying stutter when opening up in town is definitely back.
Twiddled the mixture screws once home by starting with the basic 1 1/2 turns out. with that, the engine sounds as if it's about to die and so I needed to open both screws out, one to around 3 turns out, the other about 2 1/2.
From what I understand, the mixture screws on the PHF are fuel screws, ie. out = more fuel. That would indicate the pilot jets being a tad small.
Before I start screwing everything up, am I right?

Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
From what I understand, the mixture screws on the PHF are fuel screws, ie. out = more fuel. That would indicate the pilot jets being a tad small.
Before I start screwing everything up, am I right?

Paul
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Yes, Paul. Usually starting from rich side works best for me when adjusting mixture scres on these but that might be only a personal habit. Still adopting to the new exhaust or did the lean mixture appear rightaway from next to now?
 
Correct, Paul. Mixture screws, more turns out the richer it gets. Once you pass about 2 1/2 turns out you are out of effective range for the mixture screws. Pickup off idle/closed throttle is the cutaway, somewhat affected by the idle mixture. Standard 50 slides won?t like such a rich idle mix and will not pick up cleanly. Too lean idle tends to pop and die and with too big cutaway you have to slowly and carefully pick up from idle or it wil die. Too rich idle will foul your plugs and too rich cutaway will cause it to be fluffy opening from closed throttle, especially when riding (not just from stopped and idling). If it does idle perfectly with 60 pilots you could try leaner cutaways like 60s, but it gets pretty expensive playing with slides. My SF2 has 50 pilots and idles perfectly on 1 1/2 turns out and picks up cleanly with 50 slides (no pumps). From my experience bikes with Dells like to idle just a tad rich, about 1/8 out from what gives fastest idle. With correct pilot jets it should be about 1 1/2 turns, half a turn in or out from ideal will have marked effect. That is my experience anyway. Maybe this should be in a tech post. Cheers Lee
 
Thanks to you both.
Exhaust seems to have bedded in, ie no more air leaks on the exhaust side and the problem set in progressively. Air leak on the intake? I had a rapid look with the carbs out yesterday but didn't see anything obvious.
The air filter is a unifilter given to me by Clem to test about 30 or 40 000 km back. I can report that it's worth it, particularly since I was given it but maybe I should wash it, have never done so!

Slides are 50, pilots 60. A finger up the silencers comes back black and greasy. Oil is on the top mark and has been so for a while which is curious since the bike gets through around 250 to 500 cc per 1000 km. usually. May have over filled.

Iddle is perfect, the bike will iddle very rapidly from cold and could iddle for hours when hot though the cams and followers wouldn't like it!

Paul
 
Iddle is perfect, the bike will iddle very rapidly from cold and could iddle for hours when hot though the cams and followers wouldn't like it!
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Hi paul - make sure that there is free play on the choke cable at carb end and chokes are sealing - also that the rubber gaiters are good and not letting air into choke boring - regards - phil
 
Hi Phil,
Changed all the gaiters this week end and all cables are nice and free.
Carbs are new from last winter.

Rode to work this morning and the mixture screw twiddling of yesterday has paid off: no more spluttering when opening up.
Tuning procedure seems a bit borderline so will try 65 pilots at the weekend and why not 55 pilots.

It's always difficult not going overboard when a problem crops up following multiple changes; in my case, new carbs last winter, straight through pipes and new points this winter. You have to reflect before touching anything, otherwise you just bring in new variables and get thouroughly lost.

I greatly admire good mechanics who can rapidly narrow down investigation.

Off work early for once, before the shops close so will be off on the bike to the local wholesale gasket/bearing shop to buy a couple of spare RH crank end oil seals, I only have one left! Also some registered mail to pick up at the post office.

Paul
 
Paul Marx said:
Tuning procedure seems a bit borderline so will try 65 pilots at the weekend and why not 55 pilots.
Click to expand...
Paul, I've been going through basic idle, low throttle setup on an SF1, straight through pipes. It also idles well from cold (which it shouldn't! Indicates an overly rich mixture). It's fluffy on a very slight throttle opening (so just about every steady speed below 90kph!). It has 60 pilots and 50 slides (pumpers removed) and wants only one turn out on the screws - definitely too rich and I will be going down to 50s asap before returning it to its owner. 65s are absolutely NOT going to make it better. If it runs well on them, you have air leak problems.
Quentin
ps changes like removed junction boxes don't make much diff. This bike still has 140 mains and it revs very had and very cleanly. Might go 145 for safe keeping. 2 x big green pod Unifilters into the intake rubbers in the orig cutdown airbox are fine. A full throttle prob turned out to be a main jet sitting in the float bowl drain bolt!!
 
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